Uranium tetrachloride

Tetragonal

A = 829.6 pm c = 748.7 pm

Uranium tetrachloride

Green crystalline solid

Fixed

4.72 g · cm -3

590 ° C

791 ° C

• Soluble in water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, pyridine, ethyl acetate
• Insoluble in phosphorus trichloride, thionyl chloride, phosphorus oxychloride and liquid chlorine

Risk

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Uranium ( IV) chloride is a chemical compound consisting of the elements uranium and chlorine. It has the formula UCl4 and belongs to the class of chlorides.

Production and representation

Uranium (IV ) chloride is produced in larger quantities by the reaction of carbon tetrachloride with uranium dioxide ( UO2) at 370 ° C.

Also possible is the preparation by reaction of uranium dioxide with thionyl chloride, the resulting uranium (IV ) chloride is always something Sulphuretted

Or the reaction of uranium ( III) chloride with chlorine,

Or the reaction of uranium trioxide with hexachloropropene,

Or the reaction of uranium dioxide with carbon and chlorine, where the reaction provides an extremely pure uranium ( IV) chloride.

Uranium metal was first in 1841 by Eugène- Melchior Peligot by reduction of uranium (IV ) chloride with potassium isolated.

Properties

It is a dark green, light green finely divided or olive, radioactive powder. It is sublimable to reddish brown steam in a dry nitrogen or argon stream at about 600 ° C. This resublimiertes uranium tetrachloride is deep green crystals with a metallic surface sheen. It is soluble in water, methanol, ethanol, acetone, pyridine, ethyl acetate, but insoluble in phosphorus trichloride, thionyl chloride, phosphorus oxychloride, and liquid chlorine. The compound has a tetragonal crystal structure with space group I4/amd with the lattice parameters a = 829.6 pm and c = 748.7 pm.

Use

Uranium (IV ) chloride is used as the starting material in the electromagnetic isotope separation ( EMIS ) in uranium enrichment; to be used, developed by Ernest O. Lawrence alpha calutron. In 1944, they started at the Y -12 National Security Complex to produce UO3 from the UCl4 in order to have the starting material. The advantage of the uranium ( IV) chloride is that it compared to uranium hexafluoride so has non-corrosive properties.